


When We Were Young

by Personae



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ALSO BABY ADRI & MARI ALERT, Asdfghjkl, Enjoyyyyy, F/M, Fluff, I tried my best, Oneshot, first miraculous fic, fluffy fluff, okay im rather nervous but, remember that beach scene everyone was asking for, so a bit nervous, well here you go?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-28 17:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8455042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Personae/pseuds/Personae
Summary: OneShot. An old faded photograph from the beach stirs up past memories from when they were young.Marinette & Adrien.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Been rather nervous about this one for a while, since it's my first Miraculous fic, and I lost my formatting and stuff so been a bit of a nervous trainwreck lol. But I hope people enjoy it. Was supposed to be really short but, um, it grew a bit (my bad). Also discovered how much I adored writing each character--some more than others. *chuckles sheepishly*
> 
> Inspired by "When We Were Young" from A Day At The Beach (Instrumental Soundtrack).

“When was the last time you’ve been to the beach?”

The tiny red and black spotted kwami’s question made Marinette pause to think. It had been so long since she had gone there since she was young. Her parents had often taken her frequently during several summers to frolic in the water. Her mother taking pictures of her and her father with wide grins, eventually her mother and father would switch places for some beautiful scenic shots. Sometimes little Marinette would help, and take missed shots resulting in blurred bizarre mixes of stray hands, feet and limbs with splashes of colours. The ocean always welcomed them. Marinette loved the way the ocean held sway and control of its own fate. Unlike the clumsy her, always tripping over her feet or messing up in miraculous ways.

“When I was still very small.” The raven-haired girl said, “Why you’d ask, Tikki?”

The kwami had flown to where a picture of the ocean hung in the room, and dropped down to take up residence in front.

“Oh, just curious.”

Marinette’s brows furled. She never could figure out the Kwami in these kinds of moments where Tikki seemed to be somewhere else faraway. Tikki then turned to give her miraculous holder a reassuring grin before returning to the ocean photo.

“Ever think about going back sometime?”

“Sometimes,” Marinette admitted. “But with being Ladybug, I highly doubt I could afford to take a vacation any time soon. Although…”

“Hmm?” Tikki’s attention was on Marinette before hearing the crack of her door opening. 

Tikki had vanished as Marinette’s mother, Sabine, popped her head in with the laundry basket. “Sorry, sweetheart, I knocked but I guess you were too engrossed in homework to hear.” She heaved an empty laundry basket onto the landing. “I'm going to be doing some laundry, as you can see. Any clothing for the basket?”

A warm smile sprouted across her daughter’s face as she obliged with her worn clothes from several days worth. Sabine stood, glancing around Marinette’s room, inspecting. It was neat and tidy as always. Photos hung and pasted nearly everywhere on her board about the computer. When her eyes fell on a picture frame illustrating one of the best summer memories at the beach, she chuckled.

“Oh, this picture,” she held the frame in both hands, “I remember this.”

Digging through her closet, Marinette glanced over her shoulder to answer. “Is that so?”

“Mhm,” Sabine nodded, “I remember this was taken before we lost contact with that little boy.”

“Little boy?”

“Why yes, that summer, you played with a little boy who came with his mother. His father had been unable to come thus leaving him sad, and so you, despite being ever so shy, marched over to him offering your hand. You both became inseparable. The laughter we could hear that day. 

“Shame we never did get their names nor kept in touch. Your father and I gathered they had a week long vacation of sorts, so you two played each day to the fullest. You were positively heartbroken when we came afterwards and he wasn't there to greet you anymore. We looked everywhere but couldn't find them. You and I even when back often while your father maintained the bakery.

“It was as if they vanished. Never to be seen again.

“But this picture was probably the last time we ever saw them.”

The conversation veered away from the sullen subject, as if it was a dead end to press for more answers, to what Marinette’s current fashion designing project entailed. Materials were soon discussed along with other equipment—Marinette had planned to create a summer ensemble, including a hat, sundress possibly, shorts and tank top, even a beach bag. Now Marinette had an idea of a sunflower basis in memory of those fond memories at the beach so long ago. Sabine took delight in witnessing her daughter’s budding ever-growing talent and endless imagination. 

Eventually the discussion turned to Sabine’s husband and Marinette’s father, Tom, about what he would think. The baker was always creative in his designs and could offer some possible insight. Of course, this led to the two ladies giggling at the thought of Tom mistaking the ensemble for himself—it wouldn’t have been the first time either. Sabine recalled the Christmas Knitting disaster the year before to which Marinette almost laughed to tears from the memory. 

After gathering all the available clothes, the conversation had finally dwindled as Sabine noted the time, took the basket and left. Marinette flopped onto her bed. Tikki soon was in her line of vision.

“ _Sooooo…_ ”

“So, what?”

“Do you think you'd ever meet him again?”

“The little boy? I don't even know what he'd look like now, nor have his name.”

Studying the photo, the little boy had been blurred as the shot was taken from how much their laughter had shaken them. The colours were vibrant and faded; a reminder of how much time has passed since. Besides they had been so young, there wasn't much of a chance that he remembered the little girl that splashed water in return. Both of them had grown, both of them were perhaps different than how they remembered the other. Tastes and things back then would have changed. 

Who knew if either was the same person they knew when they were young?

Nothing remained the same.

Not even from time’s lingering touch.

Her vibrant flower print sundress painted young Marinette with grace and elegance, something she wished her older self had maintained to some degree. Her sandals had flower prints as well, matching her sundress. Her hair had been small and flowing with the front part of her bangs braided back to resemble a crown of sorts. Then a loose strand had been pinned back with another flower designed object—a hairclip fashioned after a sunflower. Bright and vibrant like the sun she had been those days with him.

And the little boy, dressed in wave-designed board shorts and an unzipped summer vest and tee was cut off by the mouth onwards in the worn photograph. He had been about the same size as Marinette, however more stylish in apparel. Blond curls were wild and sun-kissed as it obscured most of his face. The result happened as he tried to drag her along to see a crab that had marched out of the wet sand. The tide had been ushering in and out in short bursts, and had nearly caught the two of them off guard.

The black bob had followed the tow-headed one, like shadow chasing light.

But those days had long gone with the waning tides, never to return the same. Since that day she had lost one of the sunflower hairclips. Devoured by the sandy surface and the rushing tides, it was never to be seen again. Exactly like the little boy and his mother.

_Perhaps it had been fate?_

_Could he have picked it up by accident, meant to return it but was unable to?_

_No, those questions were meaningless now_ , Marinette dismissed. _Who’d ever think to keep something insignificant as a sunflower hairclip for this long?_

Opening a drawer to grab some more coloured pencils, Marinette’s gaze to fell upon an old worn hairclip modeled after a sunflower—the only one that remained.

Marinette smiled as nostalgia washed over her, filling her with warmth.

“Perhaps, Tikki, I might go to the beach this summer.”

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

“You don’t think she could have been Ladybug before she got her abilities, do you?”

Adrien’s mind whirled at the possibilities that had sprung from an old photograph of him and a little girl. Those days were one of the few he had left of his mother before she vanished mysteriously. It was that summer before she went missing that he had met her, the little girl of sunflowers. Her entire ensemble was bright and full as the sunflowers that were often found along the path to the beach. The sunflower hairclip she wore in her raven hair matched her seamlessly.

Plagg nibbled on his slice of half eaten Camembert, feigning interest. 

The subject had come up while cleaning and a box had dropped causing something inside to make a shattering pop. The investigation led to Adrien holding the old photograph of his mother and him at the beach with some unnamed little girl. Whoever had taken the photo was unwieldy in photographing, hence the resulting blurry worn photograph. 

As Adrien rambled his questions out loud, Plagg merely kept his attention on the remaining Camembert. Despite being a kwami, Plagg wasn’t always the most helpful of beings, nevertheless he was a listener…of sorts. But it didn’t in essence meant he didn’t pay attention to his Miraculous Holder, just picked and chose his moments. Still the black kwami couldn’t help be amused by how much the blond would concern himself over the mere thought of discovering Ladybug’s true identity.

Deciding it was too good to pass up an opportunity to tease Adrien, Plagg played along.

“Who knows, maybe she is?”

“Plagg…”

“What? You asked and I answered.”

“Still,” Adrien sighed, “I don’t even know her name or anything about her. Would she even remember me?”

“Who knows?”

“ _Plagg,_ ” the blond’s voice was firm in warning, “not helping.”

“What can I say? There’s not much to go on other than assumptions.”

Sighing in defeat, Adrien flopped onto his bed. “Yeah, she could be anyone, anywhere.”

“But you know, Adrien,” the kwami flew into view with a rare thoughtful expression, although mischievous looking causing Adrien to make skeptical frown. 

His gaze studied the broken picture frame, cracked from the accident and worn by time, recognizing its meaning. Then his gaze caught something else—a worn-out sunflower hairclip. Its bright yellow now a dull imitation of its former self, cracked and faded from use and being handled no doubt. 

“Fate does have an uncanny way of tying up loose ends.”


End file.
